


Interlude

by penguingal, Schnaucl (Onetrackmind)



Series: Triangulation [14]
Category: Numb3rs
Genre: Incest, M/M, comment porn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-06-05
Updated: 2006-06-05
Packaged: 2017-11-21 04:37:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/593528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/penguingal/pseuds/penguingal, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Onetrackmind/pseuds/Schnaucl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charlie and Don talk about Billy moving out to L.A.  Charlie has reservations.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Interlude

Charlie was quiet and anxious on the way back to Don's apartment. He knew Don wanted him to be happy about Billy's offer, knew that he _should_ be happy. But he was more than a little afraid of what Don thought of him now.  
  
Don dumped his bag near the front door and headed toward the kitchen, looking despondently into the empty fridge. He looked around, finding Charlie standing in the living room and he quietly wrapped his arms around his waist, kissing his neck. "You hungry? There's nothing here but we can order something." He pulled Charlie tight against him, cradling him to his chest.  
  
"I'm sorry," Charlie whispered.  
  
"Sorry for what, buddy?" Don asked, gently turning Charlie to face him, pressing a soft kiss to his lips.  
  
"For not feeling like I should."  
  
"Charlie," Don said, using his most patient voice, "you don't ever have to apologize for your feelings. Not ever. Billy and I both know this idea isn't easy for you. Come here." He pulled Charlie over to the couch, seating him on it. "I'm going to order Chinese food and then you're going to tell me what you're feeling, okay?" At Charlie's nod, he grabbed the phone, ordering his brother's favorite, grabbed two beers out of the fridge and sat down. He pushed his fingers into Charlie's curls, massaging his scalp gently. "Talk to me."  
  
"I should be ecstatic, I know I should be. I just--I'm so scared things are going to change. And I know--I know I was the one who said things had to be equal and now that they might actually be that way--" he broke off, blinking and swallowing hard.  
  
"Are you afraid I'm going to leave you for Billy?" Don said quietly, still massaging Charlie's head and neck with his hand.  
  
"Yes," he whispered. "I'm afraid that it can't ever be just us again. It's one thing to have rules about being together when the only time we see Billy is when he's on vacation. But when it's every day?"  
  
Charlie did have a point. Not that Don could ever choose Billy over Charlie, but creating and enforcing any real boundaries between them would be incredibly difficult. The temptation to push them, bend them would always be there. Don sighed. "Listen to me a second, and really hear me on this. We've been together what? almost two years now? I spent way too long trying to bury my feelings for you, pining for you. _For you_. You are the first, last, and only choice for me. I'd fall apart without you. I'd do anything within my power to make you happy. Do you understand?"  
  
Charlie nodded and moved to hold Don tightly. "I'm afraid that we won't still be _us_ ," he confessed. "Even if we get rid of the rule about never doing anything sexual with Billy without the other person there, I'm afraid we'll start being guilty about the times we're together just the two of us. And I can't lose those times, Don. I need them, need _you_ too much."  
  
"Me too. It's so hard to snatch some private time together, time where we can _be_ us, I don't want to lose that for anything. Not even Billy." Don toyed with Charlie's hair.  
  
"Yeah?" he asked softly, hopefully.  
  
"Yeah," Don said, pulling him close and pressing their lips together. "I love you. I keep trying to tell you. You're my life, my whole world. I love Billy, too, but that would be nothing without you." He paused, just as there was a knock on the door. "Hold that thought, I'll be right back."  
  
Charlie waited for Don to return, willing himself to believe his brother's words, to let himself be persuaded it would be okay.  
  
Don pulled the food out of the bag and set it before Charlie, smiling as he dug in to his favorite. He rubbed his back in slow circles. "I'm not going to pretend that it wasn't exciting for me to know Billy's willing to move for us. And I have to believe he'd understand if we talked to him about our fears, but maybe it's just not the right time." He put down his own food. "I don't expect either of us to come to a conclusion tonight. So what do you say to some time spent just the two of us right now?" He tenderly brushed an errant curl behind Charlie's ear.  
  
"I'd like that," Charlie said, leaning in for a kiss.  
  
Don pulled Charlie almost into his lap, making the kiss firm, slow, and wet, wanting to show him as much as he could that he'd meant every word he'd said.  
  
Charlie moaned softly and let his hand caress the back of Don's neck. "I love you."  
  
Sighing softly and leaning into the touch, Don stroked Charlie's cheek with his thumb. "I love you, too. And I don't want you to worry. One way or another we'll work all of this out." He nudged at Charlie, getting him to back up a little. "What do you say we take the food into the bedroom with us?"  
  
"Thought I was supposed to be the genius," he teased.  
  
"Hey, I have my moments," Don purred, kissing Charlie again.  
  
....  
  
Billy drove into the darkness, headed for his empty apartment, his phone on the seat. If Charlie or Don needed to talk to him, he didn't want to miss them calling. Every so often, he'd glance at the phone, wondering if he should call them, see if they were okay. "Come on, Coop. They just spent a whole week with you. I know you miss 'em already, but let them have some time to themselves. You have to be able to do that, or this'll never work," he said out loud. He shoved the phone out of sight in his bag and turned up the radio, singing along off key and pushing Don and Charlie out of his head for now.  
  
....  
  
After they were done eating, the cartons carefully put aside, Charlie turned to him. "What do you want?" he asked quietly. "Not what do you think I want, but what do _you want_?"  
  
Don bit his lip. He didn't want to make Charlie upset, but he couldn't lie to him. "You're right to be concerned about how our time together would be affected," he started slowly, pulling all his thoughts together, "but even with that, I'd still want Billy here." He paused and licked his lips. "Billy doesn't open himself up easily or often. Part of that is my fault but some of it goes way deeper than that. For him to ask us this it's--huge. And I do love him. The longer we're with him the harder it is to keep letting him go. I see how it affects you, too, the way you get quieter the longer we're apart. Something inside you aches for him, maybe not as much as you ache for me or in the same way but it's there. Can you tell me putting this trip together wasn't at least a little bit an act of desperation to make that ache go away?"  
  
"That was part of it," Charlie admitted. "And to see you. Really see you. I know this is big for him, for you. I wish it were easy for me to agree to this, I wish I didn't have reservations..."  
  
"Shh," Don soothed, pulling Charlie close and kissing him. "It's okay to take time to think this over. We should be careful. It's a big step and we all need to be sure we're ready for it." He moved his way down to kiss Charlie's jaw and neck, the spot behind his ear. "I love you Charlie," he murmured into his skin. "And Billy loves you. No matter what we decide, that's not going to change." He lavished attention on Charlie's earlobe, his hand splayed out across his stomach, rubbing in slow, soothing circles.  
  
Charlie nodded and tried to let himself be soothed. "I love you," he whispered.  
  
"Enough about this tonight," Don purred. "What can I do to take your mind off of it?" He smiled and licked his lips.  
  
Charlie returned his smile and kissed him gently. "Love me," he whispered.  
  
"Always," Don said solemnly. "And gladly." He slipped his arm from around Charlie's shoulders, rolling so he was covering him partially with his body, a knee between his legs. He kissed Charlie deeply, slow and languid, wanting to take his time, connect with him on the deepest level. Slipping his hand under Charlie's shirt, he let his thumb caress the warm skin.  
  
Charlie shivered a little and returned Don's kiss, hungry and maybe a little desperate but wanting to go slow, take his time.  
  
Don lost himself in Charlie's kiss, as always, the warmth and passion pushing everything else aside. He blinked a few times when the kiss was broken, trying to get his brain to come back on line. Smiling, he pulled Charlie onto his side, twining their bodies together and holding him close. His hand slid under his shirt to caress the warm skin at Charlie's back, his fingers just dipping into the waistband of his jeans. "I don't know what I ever did in my life to deserve you," he whispered into Charlie's shoulder, kissing his neck.  
  
"Same thing I did to deserve you," Charlie murmured, claiming another gentle kiss. He let a hand slip under the hem of Don's shirt, caressing the warm skin.  
  
The gentle kiss slowly slid into something more hungry and needy, and Don went with it. He pulled Charlie flush against him, a small gasp escaping as their groins nudged against each other. Sliding his hands up along Charlie's torso, Don stripped him of his shirt, baring his coveted flesh to him. Unable to resist, he licked and sucked at Charlie's collarbone until he'd raised a fresh bruise on his skin. "Mine."  
  
Charlie shivered and whimpered, made his body pliant against Don's. "Yours."  
  
Clever, experienced, knowing fingers made short work of Charlie's belt, pushing his jeans and boxers over his hips so he could kick them off his legs. Once Charlie was free, Don rolled to his back, pulling him on top and allowing him all the access he desired.  
  
Charlie held himself still for a moment, just smiling down at his brother before slowly lowering his head for a long, lingering kiss. "Mine."  
  
"Mmmm, yours, Charlie. Always." Don replied, fingers tracing Charlie's spine, teasing gently at the cleft of his ass.  
  
Charlie kissed him again and gently stripped him of his shirt. His fingers traced patterns on Don's skin reverently.  
  
Arching up into the touches, Don just let himself feel. He loved being with Billy, but he loved these quiet times alone with Charlie, too. He hoped Billy had some kind of plan for this, had already anticipated it, because there was no way he could ever give this up.  
  
Charlie kissed his forehead, his lips, sucked lightly on his neck, licked and nipped his way down his chest and slowly, slowly undid Don's belt, tossing it aside.  
  
"Tease," Don said lightly, caressing Charlie's curls, letting his fingers roam along the familiar skin.  
  
"Of course I am. You like me that way," Charlie said, voice equally light. He popped the button on Don's jeans and even more slowly started dragging his zipper down, letting Don hear the sound of individual teeth unlocking.  
  
Groaning, Don arched against Charlie. "Mmm, Charlie. God. Need you." He pulled him up for a fierce, searing kiss, devouring his heat.  
  
Charlie moaned and quickly stripped Don of his pants, then claimed another kiss, licking and sucking. Then he held himself still, just looking into Don's eyes.  
  
Don took the time to look back, tenderly brushing Charlie's hair out of his eyes, his thumb caressing his cheek. "Tell me what you need, Charlie," he murmured, his voice husky and low.  
  
"Just you," Charlie whispered. He leaned forward and claimed another kiss, slow and tender.  
  
Wrapping his arms around him, Don rolled so Charlie was on his back again, riotous curls squashed against the pillow. He kissed his forehead, his eyelids, his nose, his lips, his chin, his throat, everything he could reach as he worked his way down Charlie's body until he finally wrapped his hand around the base of his cock and sucked the head gently between his lips.  
  
Charlie moaned and forced himself not to buck up. "Don!" he murmured, hands automatically latching on to Don's shoulders.  
  
Don grinned and hummed a little, sucking in earnest on Charlie, reveling in his unique feel and taste, loving the feel of his nimble fingers on his skin as he tried to hold on through the waves of stimulation.  
  
Charlie moaned again, hands caressing strong shoulders as he gasped and tried to hold still, tried not to writhe or jerk.  
  
Backing off a little, Don kissed the inside of Charlie's thigh, his belly button, and his hipbone as he reached for the lube. "Let go," he murmured into Charlie's skin as he dropped his hand between his legs, slipping one finger easily inside. "Don't hold anything back from me."  
  
"I promise," Charlie whispered. He shivered as Don slipped inside him.  
  
Nodding, Don slipped a second finger, then a third into Charlie's body, crooking them briefly, enjoying the way Charlie's eyes rolled back in his head as his prostate was stimulated. He slicked his cock quickly, positioning himself between Charlie's legs, one ankle hooked around his shoulder. He nudged at his entrance, just the head of his cock penetrating.  
  
"Don please," Charlie whispered. "Please, I want you in all the way."  
  
Smiling a little, Don stroked a soothing hand down Charlie's thigh as he rolled his hips, pushing inside in a sure, even thrust. He dropped his head between his shoulders and moaned at the tight, hot feeling around him. "God, Charlie."  
  
"Don." He murmured his brother's name and held on to him tightly, shuddering with pleasure. "Love you. Need you. Don't ever want to be without you."  
  
"You don't ever have to be," Don promised, sliding out of his brother and pushing gently back in. He stroked Charlie's skin as he moved, teasing the places he knew would make the arousal buzz under Charlie's skin. His pace was slow and familiar, wanting them both to connect with the feeling of being just them.  
  
Charlie gave himself up to sensation, stopped thinking about anything but Don and how Don felt inside him. Pleasure and warmth and love.  
  
Don would never be able to list all the things he loved about being with Charlie; there was too much, it made his heart too full to even contemplate, and it felt too good to be separated into small pieces. "I love you, Charlie," he whispered, wrapping his hand around Charlie's cock and stroking firmly in time to his thrusts.  
  
Charlie whimpered. "Love you--too." He moaned and moved in time with Don, the pleasure building and building and building until he thought it would break him.  
  
The coil tightened at the base of Don's spine, pleasure shoving all coherent thought to the side as he moved. He let the wave surge and break over him, crying out Charlie's name as he came, pulsing heatedly deep inside his body.  
  
Charlie came just after Don, crying his brother's name as he was overwhelmed by pleasure.  
  
Resting his head on Charlie's knee, Don waited a few heartbeats until his breathing resembled something normal before slipping gently from his brother's body and sliding up the bed to curl around him. They talked quietly about nothing at all until they both drifted off to sleep.  
  
....  
  
The sound of Don's phone buzzing pulled him out of sleep the next morning. He looked at the caller ID and smiled a little, taking the phone out into the living room. "Hi, Billy," he said sleepily.  
  
"Hey, Don," came Billy's voice. "I woke you."  
  
"Yeah, but that's okay. Are you okay?"  
  
"I keep trying to relax, but this whole thing has me nervous," Billy admitted softly.  
  
Don sighed. "I know." He glanced into the bedroom, his gaze softening fondly as he looked at Charlie's sleeping form. "It's just going to take some time, Billy. We all need to be sure this is the right step at the right time. No matter what, though, we'll always love you."  
  
"I know," Billy said quietly. "I just--miss you guys."  
  
"We miss you, too," Don replied. "Listen, I want you to think about something, and really _think_ about it, Billy. How are you going to feel when Charlie and I need time to ourselves, time..." he paused, licking his lips, "time without you? Because he and I both agree, we can't live without our time together."  
  
"Don..."  
  
"Don't answer me now, Billy. Just think about that. We'll call you in a few days, okay?"  
  
"Okay," Billy sighed. "Love you."  
  
"Love you, too." Don clicked the phone shut and stroked his fingers along it before heading back into the bedroom and curling around Charlie, stroking his fingers down his arm.  
  
"What did Billy say?" Charlie asked softly.  
  
"Just that he misses us. I asked him to think about what we talked about last night. We'll just have to wait and see if he has an answer." Don paused, just feeling Charlie's skin under his hands. "At some point, you and I will have to come to a consensus about what it would take for us to agree to this."  
  
"Yeah," Charlie said softly. "I know."  
  
"C'mon, let's go get some breakfast. I'm on call today, but I don't actually have to go into the office until tomorrow." Don lowered his head and kissed Charlie's shoulder, working his way over to the nape of his neck. "And we should see Dad at some point today."  
  
"We'll have dinner with him."  
  
"Sounds great," Don smiled.   
  
....  
  
A few days later, Don and Charlie were having dinner at Don's apartment again. They traded stories about their days. "Charlie," Don started softly, "we should talk about it some more."  
  
"I know," Charlie sighed. "Why don't you tell me what you want?"  
  
"I want Billy to move here," Don said honestly. "I know we can find a way to make it work without compromising our time together. We've gotten so good at getting as much time together as we can..." he grabbed Charlie's hand. "We can do this."  
  
"I know," he said softly. "We'll find a way. We will."  
  
"Really?" Don said, a small note of hope in his voice. "Do you mean that? You want Billy here, too?"  
  
"Of course I want Billy here. I love him."  
  
A grin spread across Don's face, and he stood from the table, coming around to grab Charlie in a fierce, grateful kiss. "I love _you_. Should we call Billy and tell him? Or--" he looked at Charlie closely, trying to read him, "do you want to wait to hear what he says? I know your fears couldn't have just--evaporated in a few days."  
  
"It makes you happy," Charlie said softly. "And it makes Billy happy."  
  
Don squatted down next to him, getting him to look him in the eyes. "Will it make you happy? Tell me honestly, Charlie. Not what you think I want to hear. Will it make _you_ happy?"  
  
"I--I don't know. I hope so, but I don't--I don't know."  
  
"Charlie," Don said, his patient voice coming out again, "I want you to be happy. If you're not sure, then we shouldn't do this." Charlie looked down at the floor, his bottom lip quivering a little and Don pulled him close, hugging him tight. "Let's call Billy, talk to him for a while, huh?"  
  
"Please," Charlie said quietly. "Don't talk to me like I'm a child. I'm just saying that I'd hope that everything works out okay. But I don't _know_ that it will. I don't know that there won't be more jealousy now that we're all living together so closely. I can't promise that I won't feel threatened when you two are together, or that I won't be insecure. And I know that you and Billy genuinely hope that nothing changes between you and I. But Don, things change. And sometimes they change for the better, but sometimes they don't. I'm just--hoping that it's like you two being together. Yeah, I'm insecure about it, and yes, sometimes it still cares the hell out of me. But--mostly it's okay."  
  
"That goes both ways, Charlie, I want you to know that. There are times I still feel jealous and insecure when I see you and Billy together, and now he'd have just as much access to you as I do, probably more. There's a lot that's uncertain about this, but--but I think asking Billy to move here is the right thing to do. What do you think?"  
  
"I didn't know you felt like that," Charlie said, surprised. "I've never noticed it."  
  
"I hide it well," Don said, pushing up from his spot on the floor next to Charlie's chair and pacing around the kitchen a little. "But yeah, I get nervous, too. I mean, I was your first. And your only until Billy. And as much as you say you want me forever, there's a part of me that wonders if someday you might want Billy more. That you might get tired of me, tired of having to hide all the time. So most of the time, the little things I do to stake my claim to you, things that reassure you," he shrugged "they also reassure me."  
  
"I had no idea," Charlie said softly. He stood and pulled Don into his arms, holding him tightly. He couldn't imagine a time when he wouldn't want Don, but he knew his words would be as reassuring as Don and Billy's. "Every day," he whispered into Don's ear. "I'll find a way to show you every day."  
  
Don wrapped his arms around Charlie, holding him just as tight, needing the feel of his brother's body against his. "We both will," he murmured, his hand moving up to cradle Charlie's head. "I promise, buddy." They embraced for long moments, each other's bodies ultimately more comforting than any words they could ever say. But eventually, Don pulled away a little so he could look into Charlie's eyes. "Should we call Billy?"  
  
"Yeah. But first you have to promise that if you need me--if you need to know how much I still, always, love you, you'll say something."  
  
A small smile pulled at the corners of Don's cheeks and he ran a thumb across Charlie's lips. "I promise. Same goes for you, too, okay? Promise me?"  
  
"Promise." He gave Don a long, tender kiss. That kiss slid into another and then another. "Let's call Billy," he whispered.  
  
....  
  
Billy stared at the road in front of him, wishing he were heading west, heading for Don and Charlie, instead of heading east toward another escaped fugitive. He still loved this work, it was still in his blood, but Don and Charlie had gotten inside him somehow, burrowed deep into his heart, and even if he'd wanted to, he doubted he could get them to leave now.   
  
The long drive gave him a chance to turn over what Don had said. It was true he loved Don and Charlie as individuals, but as a pair their pull was undeniable and totally unable to be resisted. That relationship was going to need time and attention, too, if it was going to be healthy. And Billy needed it to be healthy. If he was being honest with himself, he'd gotten used to being a loner. He liked his private time, his time to just be within himself, too. And he'd be busy. Working too hard, just like Don. They could make it work. It might take a startling amount of honesty between them, but they could do it.   
  
Part of him wondered about Don's apartment, whether the boundary of not being with them there would still be in place. He thought he could handle it if it were. He might not like it, the idea that they'd always have to be at his place for sex, but being closer to them meant he'd be able to really _be_ in their lives, be there for so much more than their fevered infrequent couplings. Maybe he'd even get to go to an Eppes family dinner or two. The thought brought a smile to his face and he belatedly realized his phone had been ringing. He lunged for it. "Cooper."  
  
"Hey," Charlie said quietly. "We've talked about it, and we'd really like it if you could move out here."  
  
There was silence for a long moment on the other end and Don looked at Charlie quizzically. "Billy? Are you there?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Did you hear what Charlie just said?"  
  
"Hold on--I'm--I have to pull over." There was a watery sound to Coop's voice and Don put his arm around Charlie, holding him close. "Okay," Billy said after another moment and Don could hear him taking several deep breaths. "Do--are you sure? You really want to do this?"  
  
"I'm really sure," Don said.   
  
"So am I," Charlie added, leaning into Don's embrace. "There are things we'll have to work out, but...I'm sure."  
  
Billy put his forehead in his hand and tried to control the tears threatening to well in his eyes and roll down his cheeks. "I--I'm--I don't know what to say."  
  
"Say you'll come. Say you'll put in for a transfer and we'll see you soon. If you can't say any of that, say you love us," Don said, a smile in his voice.  
  
"I love you," Billy said quietly, the tears slipping through his defenses anyway. "So very much. And I'll put in for a transfer as soon as I get back."  
  
"Good," Charlie said quietly. "Maybe you can visit before the transfer--go apartment hunting?"  
  
"Definitely," Billy said, taking a deep breath and working on getting his control back. "The transfer will take some time to go through, a few months maybe. But I'll come see you. We'll talk. I--I'm sure I don't sound it, but I am so happy. You've made me so happy. I wish you were here now so I could hug you, kiss you both." He paused, sniffling. "I have to get going. I'm heading to Virginia, but as soon as I'm done there, I'll get the transfer started. I love you."  
  
"I love you, too, Billy," Charlie said. "Be careful, okay?"  
  
"I will," Billy promised. "I'll call you when I get there."  
  
"Talk to you then, Billy," Don said. "Love you."  
  
"Love you, too." And he hung up the phone.  
  
Don turned to Charlie and pulled him into a long, fierce kiss. "You've made me very happy, too," he whispered against his lips. "Let me take you in the bedroom, show you how much?"  
  
Charlie smiled and took Don's hand, leading him into the bedroom.  
  
They made love, sweet and tender and slow, Don pulling the sounds and noises he craved out of Charlie before letting him fall over the edge, coming with the sound of his name on his lips. Later, he gathered him in his arms and stroked his skin as they let the euphoria wash over them. "You know," Don started softly, "I don't think I've ever heard Coop cry before."  
  
"You think he's okay?"  
  
"Yeah, I think so. It just shows how much he really does love us, to let us hear him like that, for him to let on that he was feeling vulnerable just then."  
  
"I'm glad he let us in."  
  
"Me too," Don said softly. "Even when we were together he was never--I mean there were so many barriers between us. I wasn't really sure, given our history together, if he _would_ let me in."  
  
"Given your history?" Charlie asked cautiously.  
  
Don glanced at Charlie and he shifted a little under him. "I broke his heart, Charlie," he said softly. "When I left, I broke his heart."  
  
"You broke his heart?" he repeated. "You broke--and neither of you thought to mention it before now?"  
  
Don sat up, his back against the headboard, and ran a hand through his hair. "Please don't be angry with me," he said softly. "I know I should have told you, but I didn't know how."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"I told you once that Billy and I were both too male to admit to each other there was something more between us than just friends fucking. Well. That's not exactly accurate. I did love Billy, but I thought for sure Billy would laugh at me if I told him, sure he just thought it was fun. So, when the opportunity for promotion came up, I didn't think twice. You should have seen his face when I told him. It looked like something inside him just--died. We fought. It was the worst fight we ever had, and the only one that didn't end in him fucking me through the mattress. He never said it in so many words, and when he called me a couple months later we didn't talk about it, but I knew I'd broken his heart. And I was so stunned by that revelation, I couldn't bring it up either. I didn't know what it meant for me. But things between us were good, comfortable, even though I didn't see him again until he came to help us with McDowd. By then, I'd put our relationship solidly behind me. I was already in love with you." Don lifted his eyes to Charlie's, begging him to understand.  
  
"Why didn't you go back?" he whispered. "If you loved him why--why didn't you go back?"  
  
"You have to understand how confused I was then, Charlie," Don said. "I'd never imagined I could fall in love with a man. And as long as it was just friends fucking around, that was okay, but to realize Billy loved me back? I couldn't deal. I ran and I buried those feelings. And then I met Kim. And I started to wonder if I'd ever been in love with him at all. On top of all of that, even then, I couldn't get you out of my head. You're the love of my life, Charlie. It's likely you always have been, even if I didn't quite consciously know it."  
  
"And he let you go," Charlie said softly. "Twice. Don are we--are we sure how Billy feels about this?"  
  
"What do you mean?" Don asked, pulling Charlie close.  
  
"What if what he really wants is you--but he's settling for this because it's all he can have?"  
  
Don mulled that over, stroking Charlie's skin absently before finally shaking his head. "No. I know Billy well enough to know he'd never say he loved you if he didn't mean it. Maybe at first it was about that, but now? He's in love with you, too."  
  
"I just--don't want to hurt him."  
  
"He never would have suggested coming down here for us if he didn't know exactly what he was getting into. I think it'll be fine. But we can talk to him when he comes to look at places. We have a lot to talk about anyway."  
  
"We should. Talk to him. I never--I never realized before how much he gave up for us."  
  
"I know. It could have been completely different. He could have made a different choice, driven me back to my place instead of making me stay to work things through with you... and we might never have had this." The thought hurt Don, and he made a note to thank Billy. He practically owed his happiness to him.   
  
Charlie nodded and swallowed. "We are _so very lucky_ ," he said roughly.  
  
Leaning over, Don pressed his lips to Charlie's in a slow, sweet kiss. "We are," he whispered. "Both for what he did for us and to have him with us." He caressed Charlie's curls tenderly. "We should get some sleep. We both have to work tomorrow."  
  
"Sweet dreams, Don," Charlie said, giving him a sweet, tender kiss.  
  
"You too, Charlie." Don slid down into the bed, Charlie's warmth pressed against him and he drifted easily off.  
  
....  
  
The next weeks passed slowly. Billy called from Virginia whenever he could, but things were going badly there and catching up with his fugitive was taking longer than he'd anticipated. He was on edge and frustrated, and Charlie and Don did his best to calm him down. Finally, almost three weeks later, Billy called to say that he'd caught him and he was heading home.  
  
"I should be back at my office in a few days and I'll let you know how it goes," he said to them one night as he was driving back.  
  
"And you're okay? No new badges of war?" Charlie asked.  
  
"Nope, no new scars this time," Billy said, a smile in his voice. "I'm going to ask for an expedited transfer, but Don knows how well that can work." He smiled as he heard Don's snort and chuckle on the phone. "I'll get out there in a few weeks and we can go apartment hunting, talk. You can come stay at the hotel with me if you want. I'll call you when I know exactly when."  
  
"Sounds good to us," Don said. "Love you. See you soon."  
  
"You bet," Billy said, a grin on his face. "Love you, too." He hung up the phone and tossed it next to him on the seat, a light, happy feeling in his heart.


End file.
